What is your names?
Mauro Cappabianca

What is your genre of music?
I would define myself as a pop artist at the moment, although the influences on my music come from different genres.

Give us a little bio about you.
I’m a 21-year-old singer/songwriter from Bari, Italy. I started out at the age of 14 with a pop punk band called Marijuana Leaf. After three year, when we broke up as a band, I decided to go solo and started focusing on playing acoustic songs, trying to be as independent as possible in my music. Last year I finally took some time from studying and decided to record my first EP as a solo artist, “16:16” featuring “Break of Dawn” and “Turning Point”. It came along with two release shows in Saarbrücken, Germany, where I was studying at the moment. After that I played a couple shows back in Italy but then decided to take a break and concentrate on writing thing that would satisfy me more and more. Meanwhile I put out “What I said to you (I’m onto you)” as a single on 1st September 2018. Now I’m still working on new music.

What made you go in to music?
Music is always been a part of my life. My granddad and dad are also musicians, so there has always been a guitar standing around in my house. I started playing it myself when I was about 10 and never stopped since.

Are you a signed?
I’m not. I want to increase my audience with my own strengths and see how my music is received without the help of a label. I record and publish my music all by myself. I’ve built a home studio in my house that gives me everything I need now to make music.

You have ‘Break Of Dawn’ and Turing Point released ,tell us more about it and what is the difference between the too?
They both talk about love, actually two different aspects of love. “Break Of Dawn” is the end of a love, but not a bad end. It is more about a love that had to end. It comes from different places actually, but if I had to describe it, it’s a sort of cry of relief so to say. “Turning Point” is about a suffered love, a distant relationship, where one knows that he/she has what they want, but still they don’t really, because the loved person is far away, out of touch. While “Break Of Dawn” has a sort of resignation mood, it kind of says “It’s over and I don’t really care”, “Turning Point” has a more active mode, like a sort of call to action.

What was the writing process like for each track?
“Break of Dawn” was one of the easiest songs I’ve ever written. I was playing that chord progression one night and after one hour most of it was done. After one week it was complete. “Turning Point” has a different story. I wrote that song four years ago and almost forgot about it. I then came across the handwritten paper with the lyrics one day and thought “this has to be done”. I rearranged the music, added drums and bass and made it more upbeat. It took me some time to mature enough to work on that song and it still happens with songs I’ve written when I was younger.

What was the recording process like for each track?
As I said before I record at home, so it was kind of natural. In my head I was just recording some better demos. I recorded, mixed and mastered the EP in four days.

What is the message you want listeners to take from your music?
I don’t know. The thing about music is that it means something different to each person. I just want to be myself in my music, so maybe the message I’d like listeners to take is just to be themselves, embrace the emotions they feel and not be afraid to show the world what they are.

Describe each track in two words.
“Break Of Dawn”: rebirth, self-consciousness; “Turning Point”: action, doubt.

Will we see any music videos?
I’m working on it. As as solo independent artist it is really expensive to produce a music video, but I won’t exclude the possibility.

Will we see an EP or Album this year?
Yeah, I’m working on it right now.

Do you have gigs coming up or a tour in planning?
Not yet, I’m working on creating songs right now.

What else can we expect from you this year?
I will try to put out as much music as possible, increase my audience and maybe try to play shows around Italy. Not sure though.

Do you have any collaborations coming up with any up coming artists?
Not yet, but I would love to.

Would you be up for collaborations if other musicians wanted one with you? and who would they have to contact?
Yeah sure, that would be great. You can just head over my Instagram page and send me a message, I usually answer straight away.

Do you play any instruments?
I play the guitar, the bass, the piano and I’m not too bad at drums.

Who are your influences?
My main influences are Ed Sheeran and Green Day at the moment. But I love how Jack Johnson plays and writes music, so I try to listen to him a lot to get some inspiration.

How do you get inspiration to write songs?
They just come to me. I write about things the I experience so there is not a standard process. It’s really stochastic.

Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
I would love to be playing my music around the world, playing for people with different background who still can relate to my music. That would be great.

When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
I just finished my Bachelor in Translation and Interpreting. I’m really passionate about languages and computers. But they all come to play in music so I don’t know where one ends and the other ones begin.

What was the song you listened to most that influenced you to go more in to the music scene?
“Jesus Of Suburbia” by Green Day.

What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
“Always ask when you don’t know something”

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Listen to lots of music, play what you like in a way you like.

What quote or saying do you always stick by?
I don’t have one in particular.

Where in your hometown is a must go to visit?
Bari (my city) is very beautiful. There is a lot to see, I always discover new places myself. There’s the Old Town, which is very beautiful, you can find St. Nicholas Basilica and St. Sabino Cathedral, the Castle built by Frederick II Holy Roman Emperor and a lot of more.

When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
1. Setlist
2. Guitar
3. LOTS OF NEW GUITAR STRINGS (you never know what happens)
4. Picks
5. Capo

Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Instagram